PKL 9: Jaipur Pink Panthers fixtures and schedule

The champions of season 1 will play their first game against UP Yoddhas.

Jaipur Pink Panthers after winning the title at the Inaugural edition of the PKL have not lived up to the expectations. After the heroics in season 1, Jaipur could qualify for the playoffs only once. Over the past couple of seasons, they had good performances in patches but couldn't showcase the required consistency in 22 game league. 

Let's take the example of seasons 7 and 8 where they finished 7th and 8th respectively. They lost out on the playoffs spot in season 8 by just 3 points. This season they will look to cross the first hurdle which is to first qualify for the playoffs.

But do they have the required asset for this?

Defence

Amit Hooda and Sandeep Dhull have been the backbone of the defence. Amit Hooda first rose to form in the PKL while playing for Jaipur Pink Panthers. Then he moved on to play for Tamil Talaivas again making a comeback to his parent team. He formed a good combo with Sandeep Dhull but both have been released.

Sunil Kumar will take up the bulk of the responsibilities in their absence combined with Sahul Kumar who had a good season last year with 40 plus tackle points. Along with the Indians, Jaipur has roped in the defender from Iran Riza Mirbhageri who like the other Iranians will look to shine from his first season.

Raiding

Arjun Deshwal has been a sensation for Jaipur last season scoring 268 raid points and finishing 2nd in the Raiding section behind Pawan Sehrawat. Deepak Niwas Hooda had given him good support in both raiding and defending. In season 9 they lack a quality all-rounder who can make contributions at crucial junctures.  

In season 9 the addition of Ajith Kumar will take the burden of Arjun Deshwal. Ajith after his stellar debut for Tamil Talaivas has been on the radar of many teams with the skills he possesses. Last season playing for U Mumba he along with Abhishek Singh formed a good combo in raiding.

Fazel Athrachali would bank on Ajith Kumar at times who started as a secondary raider and then slowly transformed to the primary position. With Jaipur Pink Panthers, he will have a similar role to play as a secondary raider and in the absence of Arjun Deshwal will take up the bulk of the raiding.

When Bengal Warriors won PKL 7, they had a quality all-rounder from Iran Mohammed Nabibaksh who was their primary player after Maninder Singh. Having a quality all-rounder benefits the team most but there are not many all-rounders to pick from.

Apart from Deepak Niwas Hooda and Nabibaksh, not many have made their mark as an allrounder barring a few in the previous season like Sandeep Narwal and Manjit Chillar who couldn't continue to dominate for long in both the departments. Jaipur should have tried to retain Deepak for his abilities.

Current season

Jaipur Pink Panthers clash with UP Yoddhas in PKL season 9 opening encounter. Winning the opening match in any league will help teams gain momentum and start well. UP Yodhas have played well in the last few seasons having the deadly defender left and right back combo of Sumit and Nitesh Kumar.  

In the raiding Surendar Kumar Gill had taken everyone by surprise with his performance last season becoming the primary raider and taking over Pardeep Narwal and Shrikanth Jadhav, The raider recently helped Goa to qualify for the Quarterfinals of the Senior Kabaddi National Championships.

Pardeep Narwal and Nitin Tomar will help Gill in the raiding department. Pardeep Narwal if back to form cannot be stopped by many defenders and Nitin Tomar will look to prove himself with the opportunities provided. 

Jaipur will have their task cut out in their opening match playing the experienced side UP Yoddhas. On paper, UP look like the favourite with all the department covered but Jaipur shall make use of the limited resources they have.

Fixtures of Jaipur Pink Panthers

Date - Time - Fixture

October 7  - 9:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs UP Yodhhas                

October 9 - 7:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Patna Pirates                  

October 14  - 8:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Haryana Steelers        

October 15 - 7:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Gujarat Giants               

October 18 - 7:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Bengal Warriors              

October 22 - 8:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Telugu Titans                   

October 25 - 7:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Puneri Paltan                  

October 28 - 7:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Tamil Talaivas                  

October 30 - 7:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Bengaluru Bulls               

November 4 - 8:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Dabang Delhi                 

November 7 - 7:30 PM - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs U Mumba